tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38309127594167100822017-07-29T04:15:01.933-04:00You Are Making Me NewJordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-39950545342299318212015-04-18T20:05:00.000-04:002015-04-24T08:50:19.435-04:00From Nothing Over the last two months I have been in 12 different states (I think… maybe more). But definitely 12. For work and for travel, I have been all over the continental United States.<br /><div><br /></div><div>I love traveling, new places, and exploration. There is nothing more satisfying than going to a new places and learning all that I can about it. And there is nothing more rewarding than seeing friends in all of those different places.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>But recently, I think it would be safe to question if I still live in Colorado? (The answer is yes. And I still work at Crooked Creek Ranch.) But my Instagram would not reflect that recently and neither would my heart in some moments.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xroCzH5vYZk/VTKoSuttxmI/AAAAAAAABno/uiQtIg3plDA/s1600/photo10.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xroCzH5vYZk/VTKoSuttxmI/AAAAAAAABno/uiQtIg3plDA/s1600/photo10.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WhtA1I_wMYc/VTKoYUxKMkI/AAAAAAAABn0/uAaBCUCM8kY/s1600/photo09.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WhtA1I_wMYc/VTKoYUxKMkI/AAAAAAAABn0/uAaBCUCM8kY/s1600/photo09.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w_-6w_pI400/VTKnwCtc1-I/AAAAAAAABmo/Eibyr6_-woI/s1600/1511218_10203843921724159_1159368512217790710_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w_-6w_pI400/VTKnwCtc1-I/AAAAAAAABmo/Eibyr6_-woI/s1600/1511218_10203843921724159_1159368512217790710_n.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rOWKbOGFYhA/VTKoXnVHDOI/AAAAAAAABnw/cELeX8ujmC8/s1600/photo08.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rOWKbOGFYhA/VTKoXnVHDOI/AAAAAAAABnw/cELeX8ujmC8/s1600/photo08.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rmSR5gtZlbI/VTKn1Jsyq1I/AAAAAAAABm4/UX3ewIehof4/s1600/photo04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rmSR5gtZlbI/VTKn1Jsyq1I/AAAAAAAABm4/UX3ewIehof4/s1600/photo04.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WFW1xcWAmL0/VTKoKpVn5HI/AAAAAAAABnY/ml_0DRb0Y28/s1600/photo06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WFW1xcWAmL0/VTKoKpVn5HI/AAAAAAAABnY/ml_0DRb0Y28/s1600/photo06.JPG" height="364" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EdrLpflK8TQ/VTKn6Y24CjI/AAAAAAAABnI/cE6BPITR6h8/s1600/photo05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EdrLpflK8TQ/VTKn6Y24CjI/AAAAAAAABnI/cE6BPITR6h8/s1600/photo05.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-daQXMRmOZZs/VTKoPg1DGvI/AAAAAAAABng/CTXX6PIHIm4/s1600/photo03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-daQXMRmOZZs/VTKoPg1DGvI/AAAAAAAABng/CTXX6PIHIm4/s1600/photo03.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qLcPZwiXYCU/VTKn3axWvPI/AAAAAAAABnA/QLbZtBpR-NM/s1600/photo02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qLcPZwiXYCU/VTKn3axWvPI/AAAAAAAABnA/QLbZtBpR-NM/s1600/photo02.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C0G2F-zhIZI/VTKnyJkrjHI/AAAAAAAABmw/xNCmnbJk7Hg/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C0G2F-zhIZI/VTKnyJkrjHI/AAAAAAAABmw/xNCmnbJk7Hg/s1600/photo.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7PtfUhu9ALQ/VTKofdPkb-I/AAAAAAAABoA/bVEfq5NZUgc/s1600/photo11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7PtfUhu9ALQ/VTKofdPkb-I/AAAAAAAABoA/bVEfq5NZUgc/s1600/photo11.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>My roots have not been digging down deep recently. They have not broken any ground, they have been hanging on the surface as I explored Portland, drove across the country, fell in love again with the Blue Ridge mountains, and spent time with some of the dearest friends.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>My roots have not been growing here in Colorado mostly because of my heart and my fears, not because of my traveling. It cannot be blamed on the busyness, but more on the fact that I know that as my roots grow deep they take me places where I do not want to go.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Because when I am here in the valley, living my day-to-day life I have to face some realities that I just do not want to:&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Most days I am lonely and feel like a crazy friend that is way too sensitive and a smidge bit dramatic. Loving Jesus just isn't the same as it used to be and I don't know that I am really good at it. There are things to be grieved in my life that I just do not want to because that hurts and well, I don't want it to. And amidst all of this I am asking, "Jesus, where are You? Do You care?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Those are all hard things for me to admit. Like really hard. And I haven't had to admit them when I fly out again in a week and I am over committed throughout the week.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>But today I woke up with not a lot on my plate. My next plane ticket is not booked until June and I am living the simple life here in Fraser, Colorado.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>After a few months of running (and some really awesome adventures) I have succumbed to the fact I am poor in spirit and don't know that I really have much to offer, so in order to stay safe I haven't offered much at all.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>But the poor widow, who had not more than a penny, gave all that she had to Jesus.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"And he called his disciples to him and said to them, 'Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.'"&nbsp;</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Mark 12:43-44</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A lot of what I have right now feels messy and full of doubt, so I have been scared of giving anything to Jesus. But He wants it all, everything: the questions, the loneliness, and the confusion.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So I am going to try to give it all to Him, to be laid bare before the Author and Perfecter of our faith. And to trust that the Lord is not upset with my sad, little roots, but that He is guiding me in safety.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-72191722093757529522015-02-13T10:42:00.000-05:002015-02-13T10:42:18.451-05:00Hope of a DreamerI am a dreamer. I am the hopeless romantic that always wants the guy to get the girl. I imagine life's sweetness with really good coffee in the morning and a fine glass of red wine in the evening. I always want the underdog to win and my heart gets a little sadder when they don't. I believe and yearn for reconciliation in nearly every sense of the word. I think hard conversations should have redemptive endings and that grace should always pour out from our mouths. I am the one who always wants to believe that it will all work out. I fight against broken hearts and tears of sadness. I look for the fairytale "happily ever after" in nearly every situation. I cry out for justice.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7BN8fZSIhFo/VN4aY9VVipI/AAAAAAAABl4/D67gDEokoUQ/s1600/0da32899ef9833e3a0ecc5726b94fad3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7BN8fZSIhFo/VN4aY9VVipI/AAAAAAAABl4/D67gDEokoUQ/s1600/0da32899ef9833e3a0ecc5726b94fad3.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div><br />Those are the things I want. I want to start and end the day with butterflies and a good hot beverage. I want there to be no such thing as unrequited love. I want freedom for the captives and joy for the hopeless. I want reconciliation.<br /><br />But what happens when those things don't come true or aren't the reality?<br /><br />What happens when your coffee just sucks? When it doesn't work out? When the girl likes the guy and he likes her best friend? When conversations are just hard and nothing actually changes? When you cry just because your feelings are hurt? When the underdog loses? When there is no such thing as prince charming?<br /><br />Or what happens when you have been praying for healing and nothing happens at all? Or when you were sure God assured you something was going to work out and then it doesn't happen? Or when you realize that young girls are being sold into slavery in the very country that you live in? Or when you see the brokenness of this world in the senseless murder of three students in Chapel Hill?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jQTi-mKuaUE/VN4bLU361CI/AAAAAAAABmA/czJbT9v8e7Q/s1600/20ab55a5576cffe1dce94c2fc4b236b0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jQTi-mKuaUE/VN4bLU361CI/AAAAAAAABmA/czJbT9v8e7Q/s1600/20ab55a5576cffe1dce94c2fc4b236b0.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div><br />What happens then? Because if we're being honest, it's absolutely not what I want. Or what anyone wants really.<br /><br />Our trust is this: we can know that God is still God. He is the great I AM.<br /><br />And that is enough.<br /><br />Our hope is in Jesus and in nothing else. It doesn't work to hope in the happily ever after, good coffee, good job interviews, fruitful conversations, or in that one thing he said two months ago. There is no hope in those things alone.<br /><br />There is only hope in Jesus Christ. It is in Him that our hope becomes an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.<br /><br />In Him, we hope for reconciliation, redemption, justice, truth, and love; but only in Him.Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-85463365372848964002015-02-03T18:07:00.000-05:002015-02-03T18:07:36.429-05:00The Power of WithMoving across the country definitely makes life look different.<br /><br />There is something about being <i>with </i>someone to experience it with them. Like really being with them. Like in the thick of it when something really sweet or really really hard happens.<br /><br />But recently, life has not gone like that.<br /><br />Life keeps happening and I do not always get to be with my best friends when those big things happen. I am the friend that is a phone call or a plane ride away. So as friends are experiencing many things, I stay in my snowy home of Fraser and do my best to be "with" them.<br /><br />I want to be there when they come home from a date with a new boy and are experiencing all of the butterflies. I want to be with them as they plan their wedding and get ready to walk down the aisle. I want to host a celebratory dinner as friends find new jobs and move closer to where the Lord has called them. I want to sit with them on the kitchen floor as they sob because maybe life is a little harder than we all wish. I want to be in their new city and discover all the really sweet spots in that place. And I want to go to coffee to just talk about the day.<br /><br />And I want them to be here too. I want them to experience my new favorite Denver coffee shop that is enough to make your heart beat outside your chest. I want them to know the snow that glitters. I want them to ride in the passenger seat of my new car as I drive around aimlessly. And I want them to be here when the day is hard.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OH6yCKFeTT0/VNFQtifk89I/AAAAAAAABlY/88W966I5VtE/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OH6yCKFeTT0/VNFQtifk89I/AAAAAAAABlY/88W966I5VtE/s1600/photo.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />But that's not how it goes anymore. There are now 1700 miles between me and Chapel Hill. Somedays those 1700 miles feel like nothing and then other days it feels like our lives with never intersect again.<br /><br />Sometimes it is easy to get stuck in this sad feeling of monotony and distance and "will this ever end?" mindset. Sometimes a phone call just does not do it and you feel alone in a place that is supposed to be your home.<br /><br />But then I am reminded of the power of with. We limit the idea of what it means to be "with" when we think it has to do with location.&nbsp;We forget that sometimes just hearing the words "I am with you" is enough to remind us that we are not alone. &nbsp;It is way more than just a physical description, it is trusting in the God Most High whose name is Immanuel, "God With Us."<br /><br />The God who is with me in snowy Colorado is the same God who is with the bestie in Louisville fighting for high school kids to know Jesus at Fern Creek High School. I do not get to walk the halls of the high school at Fern Creek with her, but I trust that our God is walking beside her and carrying her on the tough days.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IxTNUUEvdYI/VNFPrRnHi3I/AAAAAAAABlM/9WJB1vnWSxs/s1600/10922770_10152543841251875_4382781025038777505_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IxTNUUEvdYI/VNFPrRnHi3I/AAAAAAAABlM/9WJB1vnWSxs/s1600/10922770_10152543841251875_4382781025038777505_n.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div><br />And it is the same God who looks at my friend sobbing on the floor and reminds her that He is <i>El Roi</i>, "the God Who Sees Me". I know that because He is with me and He is with her, that we are together in those moments of feeling so incredibly alone.<br /><br />My prayer is to know more the power of with and to have greater trust in the God that is with us. I hope to be a friend that no matter the distance, can say "I am with you" because sometimes that is all that we need to hear. And I hope to be a friend that goes the distance too.<br /><br />And today I am grateful for a phone that allows me to be instantly connected to friends all over. I am grateful for airplanes that take me to best friends [**insert excitement for many upcoming trips**]. I am especially grateful for all of the friends that are here too, in Colorado, in the valley, doing this life thing every single day with me. And mostly, I am grateful that God never, ever leaves us alone for He is always with us.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-azuqQchmeQU/VNFUKhrqr-I/AAAAAAAABlk/yoFXaSZ4Vpg/s1600/574654_3655389069033_1158283811_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-azuqQchmeQU/VNFUKhrqr-I/AAAAAAAABlk/yoFXaSZ4Vpg/s1600/574654_3655389069033_1158283811_n.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">because we will all be back there soon. mcmansion, let's recreate this photo.</td></tr></tbody></table>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-20764833819983211522014-12-28T22:59:00.001-05:002014-12-30T08:54:24.952-05:00Loving Jesus After CollegeIt was my sophomore year of college and I was sitting in leadership when our area director announced to us that in ten years only 1 out of 8 of us would still be following Jesus. Being nineteen and really unsure of how to really follow Jesus anyway, I was sure that I would be one of the seven not chasing after the Lord.<br /><div><br /></div><div>And then one day in September of my junior year of college I was driving with our area director, his wife, and my best friend to a Hillsong concert and he asked us, "How will you make sure that you don't fall away from Jesus after college?" I pondered the question for a little bit and I&nbsp;answered the best way that I knew how, not really sure what he meant and even more unsure of how I planned to do that. My answer was a jumbled mix of continuing my daily disciplines, living in community, and marrying someone else who really loves Jesus.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>There had just been a year between those two instances, but a lot had changed in that one year. If you hung around me in those years, thank you. Thank you for being gracious with me as I learned what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus and thank you to everyone who believed in me, who let me lead Young Life and who hired me to be a summer intern at a Young Life camp. But in that year I went from being the girl who was not quite sure how I could ever follow Jesus after college to being the girl who was absolutely determined that she would love Jesus the rest of her life, no.matter.what.happened and still really unsure how that would ever come to fruition.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>At some point in those college years I developed habits and disciplines that helped me to know Jesus more and changed my heart to always want to know Him. I formed relationships that convinced me of God's immense love for me and that always pushed me closer to Him. I learned so so so much, about myself, about other people, and about the Creator.</div><div><br /></div><div>At some point I started to think that loving Jesus could never leave me and that my passion for Him would only continue to grow, no matter what happened after college. I thought loving Jesus after college would just be second nature, easy, the normal.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>But today at twenty-three, I would have to say that loving Jesus after college is not always easy or always pretty. It is hard, confusing, and some days a little reckless feeling. But the fight is always good and it is always a fight worthy of being fought.<br /><br />I have come to know for certain that there is no perfect way to ensure that you still love Jesus when you are retired, or having babies, or even are twenty-three; but I have come to see some things that I am sticking to.<br /><br />I am going to stick to finding disciplines that will define my life. I've always gone back and forth between the nitty gritty of being disciplined or of being legalistic; I am going to always fight to be disciplined, and never legalistic. Some of my disciplines have changed since college and some have stayed the same; some have gone away all together and some need to come back into my life.<br /><br />I am going to stick to the early mornings. This isn't for everyone, but it is for me. Being with Jesus in the morning is absolutely what I need to remind myself of how much I need Jesus... and so that I can be a semi-decent, nice human being for the day.<br /><br />I am going to stick to being mentored. In college my mentor was named Amanda. She is to this day one of the most passionate women I have ever known. She taught me most of anything I know and she taught me most of any discipline I follow. When I moved to Colorado as a year-long intern I had a mentor then too. She taught and is still teaching me about being generous and bold. She loved me and stood beside me through one of the hardest years I have walked through yet. And I am going to continue being mentored because, let's be honest, we all need someone wiser speaking into our lives.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tr2AnD3iiyw/VKKtjN8MTPI/AAAAAAAABkc/0Zt4TebMq3Y/s1600/320738_10150464386926628_891336378_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tr2AnD3iiyw/VKKtjN8MTPI/AAAAAAAABkc/0Zt4TebMq3Y/s1600/320738_10150464386926628_891336378_n.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amanda&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table>I am going to stick to being in ministry. And I don't necessarily mean always having a career in ministry &nbsp;or always Young Life. I am going to stick to telling others about Jesus. Today that looks like preparing a place for the gospel to heard and leading Young Life in Grand County. I hope that one day it looks like me leading a college girls Bible study.<br /><br />I am going to stick to and fight for solitude time. This is something I have never been and still am not good at. It's something I am working to be better at. One step at a time. But I am fighting for time alone, time to be centered, and time to be completely with Jesus. Time that is longer than just an hour before sunrise, but time that is an entire day.<br /><br />I am going to stick to finding community and embracing vulnerability. I need Jesus and I need other people who love Jesus who will point me to Him. Fighting this fight can be tough and I need people that will fight beside me and will fight for me when I feel like giving up. I don't get to live in a house with 7 other girls anymore, but I still can live in community. And I can be vulnerable and open and cry the ugly cries, because we need that.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--KFPajxgxLk/VKKuPs5blaI/AAAAAAAABkk/mr3wkTAxv-Q/s1600/fe23abbcec43813da7ed66f09998da70.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--KFPajxgxLk/VKKuPs5blaI/AAAAAAAABkk/mr3wkTAxv-Q/s1600/fe23abbcec43813da7ed66f09998da70.jpg" height="640" width="512" /></a></div><br />I am going to stick to being okay for being different. This isn't easy. And of all of them, this may be the most difficult for me. Being passionate about Jesus and truly following Him makes you different. It means you make different decisions and have a different mindset. It means you pursue holiness and that just certainly isn't the cool thing to do. But I'll do it anyways.<br /><br />These are just some of the things that I am going to try to stick to. And I probably won't do them all well and at some points maybe not at all. I am going to trust that there is grace for when I fail and for when I feel weak.<br /><br />But I want to love Jesus forever, so I am going for it. <b>I am fighting the good fight. </b>Because loving Jesus is more than just living in the Christian bubble while you are in college or even the bubble of working at a Young Life camp; it is a way of life. forever.<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-35268029263658599422014-12-14T12:21:00.000-05:002014-12-14T12:21:07.928-05:00Holy Snow My fingertips are pressed up against the keys on a keyboard. Waiting. Waiting for words to come to explain this season. The Christmas tree twinkles in the corner with sparkly and burlap ornaments. And the snow is falling. Gently. In a way that beckons for a stillness of the soul.&nbsp;<div><br /></div><div>And the words of O Holy Night go through my head over and over and over again.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,&nbsp;</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>O night divine, the night when Christ was born.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Not a lot makes sense to me most days anymore. How I ended up in Young Life camping or how I ended up as the housekeeping supervisor at Crooked Creek Ranch. I wish that I could say that I heard the Lord speak directly to me to give me this direction in my life, but I didn't. In many ways, it just happened.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And that is hard for me some days. I ask myself a lot of questions. I do a lot of self-analysis, trying to figure out why I am where I am and why I feel the way that I do most days. And with many thoughts, there are not a lot of clear cut answers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But then one morning I wake up. I wake up to light coming through my window and I am grateful that I forgot to close my blinds the night before. Because snow is falling. And I lay snuggled up between my flannel sheets watching the snow fall gently onto the evergreen trees. Lauren comes in my room to lay on my bed to rejoice in the new snow fall. It is here. The snow has come.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's been a while since we have had snow. I know that sounds crazy considering I live in the Rocky Mountains and it's December, but it's the truth. There hasn't been much precipitation to be had around here.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But this morning it came. A whole six inches of it and it hasn't stopped yet. And I am grateful.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SESh_xNBxtc/VI3GrgL8m_I/AAAAAAAABkM/A0gVr1CjMSQ/s1600/7fa88182bc4a3208e5156b8a598c9fbe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SESh_xNBxtc/VI3GrgL8m_I/AAAAAAAABkM/A0gVr1CjMSQ/s1600/7fa88182bc4a3208e5156b8a598c9fbe.jpg" height="640" width="460" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Because when the snow is falling the questions stop for just a little bit. Because I am assured that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. My weary soul rejoices when the snow arrives. The snow is indicative of new life. It is indicative of a clean slate. It is Jesus in our place.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">"Though your sins are like scarlet,</div><div style="text-align: center;">they shall be white as snow."</div><div style="text-align: center;">-Isaiah 1:18-</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And this morning I am reminded of the holy night. The night that the Savior came. The night that brought Hope to the weary world. The night that still gives me hope.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Because in that night a baby was born. His name was Immanuel, God with us. He came to save the world. He was the thrill of hope. And He is still my thrill of hope. The hope that lets the questions settle and all my thoughts return to Jesus. He is the One who stills my soul, who is doing a good work inside of me, and who has saved me. He is the grace that covers all of our imperfections. And for that I fall on my knees; He is good.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-24321967057278430992014-11-20T00:07:00.000-05:002014-11-20T00:07:37.497-05:00Me, Myself, & CoffeeIf you and I were to sit down to coffee, I would (1) absolutely love it and (2) pray that the words I speak be full of both grace and truth. Because if you and I have are sitting down to coffee I want you to know that I am your biggest fan, I want you to know that our Father in Heaven loves you, and I want you to know that His mercies are new every single morning.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jVVQ_MXeT0g/VG11MmIlgAI/AAAAAAAABjs/LX5TN7GYYH4/s1600/6ba0460a610f598b0410baab0ecbae4c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jVVQ_MXeT0g/VG11MmIlgAI/AAAAAAAABjs/LX5TN7GYYH4/s1600/6ba0460a610f598b0410baab0ecbae4c.jpg" height="640" width="424" /></a></div><br />So when you cry I want to reassure you that it is absolutely okay and that the Lord will cry alongside of you and will one day wipe every tear. And when you do not do as well as you hope and you are disappointed I want to be an encouragement and tell you that there's always another shot. When life starts to really suck, I want to just sit beside you and be in it with you. Then there's the time that you are just ecstatic, and I want to experience that joy with you in the deepest part of my being as well.<br /><br />Because that's how we love other people. It is how we are friends and how we connect deeply with others.<br /><br />But with myself, I talk to myself in a whole different way. Some days it's a little heavy on the hard truth, completely forgetting the grace that is overflowing. Some days it is full of lies and hurts and pains.<br /><br />I am beginning to realize: <b>We need to learn to talk to ourselves the way that we talk to our friends.</b> I need to learn to talk to myself the way that I talk to my friends.<br /><br />When a friend says they just feel ugly, we absolutely never agree; but we will agree with ourselves in that one. We let ourselves deceive our own minds and hearts to not believe the truth. Because the last time a friend told me that they felt like a failure I did not in fact, affirm that to them and say "yes, yes you are a failure." But I did say that to myself in my moment of self-defeat.<br /><br /><b>That is not okay. </b>We have to learn to be our biggest supporters and we have to remember the Lord's immense love for us.<br /><br />God is teaching me to love myself. Not in the egocentric, self-centered way, but in the way that I cover myself with both the Truth and with grace. And in a way that celebrates the praises and allows the pain to come in all the same day.<br /><br />He is teaching me to see the small victories in getting a Colorado license and tags. He is teaching me to not get mad at myself when anxiety creeps in. He is teaching me to remind myself that it is going to be okay. He is teaching me to let joy and tears coexist. He is teaching me to tell myself that climbing the mountain is possible.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7-GUg3rnEMo/VG11TwejBjI/AAAAAAAABj8/sfj_8ETe9PM/s1600/6c0469a03de89ccf9511a5aacf507c57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7-GUg3rnEMo/VG11TwejBjI/AAAAAAAABj8/sfj_8ETe9PM/s1600/6c0469a03de89ccf9511a5aacf507c57.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>So here's to being nicer, kinder, and more gentle with ourselves. And here's to believing that it is necessary.</b></div><br />Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-38149918581597809042014-10-26T19:46:00.000-04:002014-10-26T19:46:52.995-04:00Why Growing Up is the Worst, but Why I Do it AnywaysI like to consider this season of life as the one in which I grow up and become an adult. I like to think and hope and pray that all of this transition is going to lead to something.<br /><br />But really this transition time is hard. It's strange and no transition has been quite like this one.<br /><br />Learning to buy a car in this season of life is like having your eyeballs plucked out.<br /><br />For some reason going to grocery store feels like your are climbing a really big mountain.<br /><br />Buying a comforter feels like it has a really lasting significance and I could never make the right decision.<br /><br />Waking up before the sun rises is less than ideal.<br /><br />Making a budget seems ridiculous and so incredibly necessary, but also impossible.<br /><br />And now there's no end in sight to this life in Colorado. Since I was a little one, there was an end date, but now my home is Colorado until the Lord moves me else where.<br /><br /><b>Thus, growing up is the worst.&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b>...Now I know that is way overdramatic and I don't mean it in a literal sense... It's just the lie Satan has been consistently whispering in my ear since my internship ended.<br /><br /><b>I am afraid that I am going to fail at being an adult.&nbsp;</b>I am afraid that I will make the wrong decision or buy the wrong thing and then everyone will think that I have failed as an adult.<br /><br />But in the end I am choosing to grow up anyways. I am choosing to because I know that those thoughts are all just lies. I can't fail at being an adult. And ultimately, this life here is absolutely nothing about me. It's not about the car I drive, the job I have, how well I spend my money, or how "good" I am at being an adult.<br /><br />It's about Jesus. It's about bringing glory to His name. It's about realizing that nothing on this earth will ever be enough. It's about clinging to hope in eternity. And it's about coming home.<br /><br />Home for so long has meant North Carolina. And to define it now seems a little more difficult. Most of my plane flights end in Denver and my license plate represents the colorful state, which may just mean that Colorado is home.<br /><br />But ultimately my home is in the loving arms of the Father. It is "the center of my being where I can hear the voice that says: 'You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests'---the same voice that gave life to the first Adam and spoke to Jesus, the second Adam; the same voice that speaks to all the children of God and sets them free to live in the midst of a dark world while remaining in the light" (Nouwen, <i>The Return of the Prodigal Son</i>).<br /><br />And I haven't been doing the best job in resting in that home. I've been so busy worrying about being an adult that the days have seemed daunting and dissatisfaction has been all I've known.<br /><br />But that tender, still small voice is reminding me that it's time to come home. And it's time to walk through this season of transition and learning with Him by my side. And it's time to kneel at His feet. For...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>It is the place of light, the place of truth, the place of love. It is the place where I so much want to be, but am so fearful of being. It is the place where I will receive all I desire, all that I ever hoped for, all that I will ever need, but it is also the place where I have to let go of all I most want to hold on to. It is the place that confronts me with the face that truly accepting love, forgiveness, and healing is often much harder than giving it. It is the place beyond earning, deserving, or rewarding. It is the place of surrender and complete trust.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>-</i>Henri Nouwen, <i>The Return of the Prodigal Son</i></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-2980571565084935312014-09-17T09:14:00.000-04:002014-09-17T09:14:06.109-04:00Deep Waters The past month I have been the friend no body should ever want. I have been the most difficult person to reach on a phone. I return calls weeks after they come and I secretly hope to get people's voicemails when I do call them back; I just feel like I am "too much" these days. I am always on the go, traveling from one place to the next or trying to figure out one thing after another. I have been needy, needing rides to and from the auto shop and needing friends to help me move an irregularly large dresser at a moments notice. I call my mom to cry about not feeling settled and not having a comforter.<br /><br />I feel most days like I might just be in over my head; and well, I probably am.<br /><br />I am frantically trying to stay afloat as I begin my job as the housekeeping supervisor at Crooked Creek, not really knowing exactly what I am doing and hoping that nothing falls apart. I am moving into a house with new roommates, bringing with me no furniture, but a ton of junk (mainly clothes and pictures that have no place to go now). I am doing my best to help run a volunteer Young Life area and a team. I am trying to make my life permanent in Colorado and buy a car for this crazy winter town. When I stop to breath and think for too long, I begin to realize the whole list of things that I need to process through from the last year; then I stop again because I don't want to deal with it all.<br /><br />There is a lot of trying, a lot of tears, and a lot of hoping for the best.<br /><br />I keep checking with Jesus, that this is really what He had in mind. I feel frantic and like this all may be too much. I keep thinking that it may be nice to just fast forward to three months from now when things feel a little more together.<br /><br />But then I remember, God may just be calling me into things that put me in over my head.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pufVcBxrylk/VBmIwcOQ0RI/AAAAAAAABjc/OlZd3bWY0DM/s1600/806c9efcb122d43e21cf0444c3364bc8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pufVcBxrylk/VBmIwcOQ0RI/AAAAAAAABjc/OlZd3bWY0DM/s1600/806c9efcb122d43e21cf0444c3364bc8.jpg" height="640" width="432" /></a></div><br />In Luke 5, Jesus asks Simon to "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." Jesus wants Simon's nets in the deep water. In the water that is over his head, in the water that Simon does not believe will be successful, and in the water that does not make perfect sense. The Lord does the same in our lives; He asks us to let our nets down into deep waters. Waters where our feet may fail without Him, waters where it's dark and difficult to see what is happening; waters where it feels like everything may just crumble to pieces at any moment.<br /><br />But Simon obeys. He obeys reluctantly, but obeys nonetheless. "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets" (v. 5). At the word of the Lord he obeyed. He obeyed with his feet, even when it did not make one bit of sense.<br /><br />And Jesus made sure of the catch. Their nets were almost breaking with fish they were so full.<br /><br />And I am reminded that maybe, just maybe, I have to keep going out of reluctant obedience. I have to keep trusting that maybe the deep waters will not swallow me alive and that maybe Jesus has a far better plan than I do. And that the Lord will do the catching. He will hold the pieces together.<br /><br />So today I am thankful for Simon and his reluctant obedience. And I pray that my dragging, kicking, and screaming feet will find the same kind of courage to step into the deep water and trust that Jesus will give me the power to move.<br /><br />And for all my friends who are in a place feeling like you may just be in over your head, I am with you. Here's to doing hard and holy things together. And for all my friends that I owe a phone call, it is coming; I promise.<br /><br /><br />Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-33006118239921390822014-08-11T19:51:00.001-04:002014-08-11T19:51:58.424-04:00The Voice of Summer And it all lays quiet. Not a person is stirring and all the buildings are asleep for a nap. We all take a sigh of relief because summer is over.<br /><div><br /></div><div>A still, small voice is saying, "I love you." A voice that I searched for, hoped for, and yearned for this summer. And voice that some days was hard to understand and hard to be believed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because this summer was one of absolute chaos. It was the summer of ending a year internship, but the beginning of transitioning into a full-time job. And it was the summer of having fifteen new friends come into our home. It was the summer of applying and interviewing for a job and then anxiously awaiting to hear. It was the summer of loving Colorado, but missing North Carolina. It was the summer of living in limbo and trying everyday to love twelve high school girls that worked in the washboard. And it was a summer of searching for the voice of truth... for the voice that comes after the clouds clear and after the tears have been shed.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0Vko4s49AOo/U-hFDWjas8I/AAAAAAAABes/n6nsaGAizK4/s1600/10462358_741714692517916_6155889371616962654_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0Vko4s49AOo/U-hFDWjas8I/AAAAAAAABes/n6nsaGAizK4/s1600/10462358_741714692517916_6155889371616962654_n.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">session one buttons: mary margaret, katie, jordan, taylor, hannah, mia, abby, meg, sarah neal, grayson, gretta // <br />bosses : cara &amp; robyn&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LMbJvUlX5Qg/U-hFD2EQF2I/AAAAAAAABew/ovl7PnOJseI/s1600/10533325_10202277272438618_4314601966364517154_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LMbJvUlX5Qg/U-hFD2EQF2I/AAAAAAAABew/ovl7PnOJseI/s1600/10533325_10202277272438618_4314601966364517154_n.jpg" height="640" width="588" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">second session buttons: stelly, jessica, deanna, ashley, ashia, kinsey, sarah, laney, olivia, lauren, alise, lizzie //<br />bosses: hannah &amp; lindsay</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--YnmgyxTwpQ/U-hFEqgaSEI/AAAAAAAABe8/2k1GaGMcwGw/s1600/image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--YnmgyxTwpQ/U-hFEqgaSEI/AAAAAAAABe8/2k1GaGMcwGw/s1600/image.jpeg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">third session buttons: gabrielle, morgan, brooke, abby, mc, claire, jade, leah, lauren, izzy, kendyl, lucy caroline // bosses: kaylan &amp; cassidy</td></tr></tbody></table><br />And that's hard. No one can ever really prepare you for the amount of transition you experience that first year after the college, and well probably not for the second either. No one tells you that one morning you may wake up feeling completely alone, only to go to sleep feeling so incredibly loved... or vice versa. No one tells you that just when you think that you have met all the best friends that you could possibly have, that there are still more to come. No one tells you that tears are the words you just can't put together. No one tells you that heartbreak comes in more than one fashion. No one tells you that some days feel like shit and the next day feels like heaven on earth. No one tells you because it is hard to feel that anything is stable and that any day is going to be the same as the one before.<br /><br />And in all of the chaos, the voice still speaks. The voice never stops speaking. Some days the voice feels far away, but it is always still full of truth and beauty.<br /><br />Colorado summers show you that. When the snow melts, there is abundant moisture and green fields to frolic in. While some days you feel stuck in the valley, the mountaintops are proof that there are high places.<br /><br />I needed to know that this summer. I needed to know that I am not stuck in the bottomless pit of transition. I needed to know that the Lord still loved me, even though I didn't love myself every single day. I needed to know that there is beauty in the ashes.<br /><br />And the Lord showed me that in days spent playing outside, in sweet new friendships, in sunsets, and in adventures.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>:::here's to a summer that I will absolutely never forget:::</b></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--NUYiIlBi54/U-hKjqexKMI/AAAAAAAABfM/GScyPDnjQOk/s1600/10376330_10152521967672223_7570277075017668391_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--NUYiIlBi54/U-hKjqexKMI/AAAAAAAABfM/GScyPDnjQOk/s1600/10376330_10152521967672223_7570277075017668391_n.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{dominguez canyon backpacking}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVcXVD1WQYU/U-hKkP_QYGI/AAAAAAAABfo/UjX6vFTASNk/s1600/10403628_10152521969847223_601739495249599690_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVcXVD1WQYU/U-hKkP_QYGI/AAAAAAAABfo/UjX6vFTASNk/s1600/10403628_10152521969847223_601739495249599690_n.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{fly camping with these girls}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cVXwVWQpbT4/U-hKqL_OUBI/AAAAAAAABhY/_f_qU1ZZX5g/s1600/1609926_10201920269595424_5922247185761622364_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cVXwVWQpbT4/U-hKqL_OUBI/AAAAAAAABhY/_f_qU1ZZX5g/s1600/1609926_10201920269595424_5922247185761622364_n.jpg" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{packs for days with the best}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivUYaU5ywrY/U-hKlMCEc6I/AAAAAAAABfs/wtCncZAVDYs/s1600/10457859_10202036991871754_6301096053530266022_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivUYaU5ywrY/U-hKlMCEc6I/AAAAAAAABfs/wtCncZAVDYs/s1600/10457859_10202036991871754_6301096053530266022_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{tip top of a fourteener in sandals. we do weird things}</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pfgLMOmuNpI/U-hKl2pc5pI/AAAAAAAABf8/avXY8pAzrOE/s1600/10475454_10204212706621771_5904810279636763103_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pfgLMOmuNpI/U-hKl2pc5pI/AAAAAAAABf8/avXY8pAzrOE/s1600/10475454_10204212706621771_5904810279636763103_n.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{carnivals on carnivals}</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U4kz5e0TSX8/U-hKnH3Om1I/AAAAAAAABgw/Vof3mjc52rk/s1600/10494852_10152624086542223_2043267428120917108_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U4kz5e0TSX8/U-hKnH3Om1I/AAAAAAAABgw/Vof3mjc52rk/s1600/10494852_10152624086542223_2043267428120917108_n.jpg" height="514" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{mountaintop fourth}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7DHN4oenEoY/U-hKmpZhXTI/AAAAAAAABgM/mU1E02A3lrQ/s1600/10494641_10202201501744398_7149375371276626068_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7DHN4oenEoY/U-hKmpZhXTI/AAAAAAAABgM/mU1E02A3lrQ/s1600/10494641_10202201501744398_7149375371276626068_n.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{rainbow promises}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uCPyv7lpx2g/U-hKjpRQZsI/AAAAAAAABfQ/8hsaGZB6OyE/s1600/10380964_10202427418395828_663686294787107608_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uCPyv7lpx2g/U-hKjpRQZsI/AAAAAAAABfQ/8hsaGZB6OyE/s1600/10380964_10202427418395828_663686294787107608_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{washboardt captain laughter}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b-yPXr5fH2o/U-hKmsaZsvI/AAAAAAAABgI/2tyCm4_F8Ds/s1600/10489755_10202427335513756_6337479583642241635_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b-yPXr5fH2o/U-hKmsaZsvI/AAAAAAAABgI/2tyCm4_F8Ds/s1600/10489755_10202427335513756_6337479583642241635_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{meet new longtime bestie, hannah}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LIY1MCs194Q/U-hKp9KNpYI/AAAAAAAABhQ/U_J92K3x-Xk/s1600/10561566_10202277274478669_4390021633350358067_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LIY1MCs194Q/U-hKp9KNpYI/AAAAAAAABhQ/U_J92K3x-Xk/s1600/10561566_10202277274478669_4390021633350358067_n.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{hearing this girl's testimony at work crew night}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9aQ1ifCsswQ/U-hKo_hiQEI/AAAAAAAABg8/T7Nxy8X8L8o/s1600/10551101_10202454136145904_7133205175956943152_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9aQ1ifCsswQ/U-hKo_hiQEI/AAAAAAAABg8/T7Nxy8X8L8o/s1600/10551101_10202454136145904_7133205175956943152_n.jpg" height="356" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{table panoramas for days}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2vA4ypn0rCo/U-hKk-XM7yI/AAAAAAAABf4/cgCOJZVk2Ec/s1600/10433091_10202231670778605_3696739104608860818_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2vA4ypn0rCo/U-hKk-XM7yI/AAAAAAAABf4/cgCOJZVk2Ec/s1600/10433091_10202231670778605_3696739104608860818_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{devil's thumb hiking adventures}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tcDq_n6lu_Q/U-hKkIZsL9I/AAAAAAAABfY/88Ep7Yvmj4E/s1600/10351313_10202331570836044_8708235974270044455_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tcDq_n6lu_Q/U-hKkIZsL9I/AAAAAAAABfY/88Ep7Yvmj4E/s1600/10351313_10202331570836044_8708235974270044455_n.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{forever friends}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oT66knR_380/U-hKnErgmbI/AAAAAAAABgg/T-XzFzRJpfg/s1600/10513423_10204438393500302_3466797560153337419_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oT66knR_380/U-hKnErgmbI/AAAAAAAABgg/T-XzFzRJpfg/s1600/10513423_10204438393500302_3466797560153337419_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{playing in fields}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CJ3UUEhxJwE/U-hKnfLIwKI/AAAAAAAABgY/MbRY_xateYA/s1600/10526172_10202348782666329_4047184457013298343_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CJ3UUEhxJwE/U-hKnfLIwKI/AAAAAAAABgY/MbRY_xateYA/s1600/10526172_10202348782666329_4047184457013298343_n.jpg" height="454" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{sunsets in rocky mountain national park}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pNebxUn7NK4/U-hKpkkwe2I/AAAAAAAABhI/Zj8ZD4bOHwY/s1600/10569086_10202331572596088_1255123225977088784_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pNebxUn7NK4/U-hKpkkwe2I/AAAAAAAABhI/Zj8ZD4bOHwY/s1600/10569086_10202331572596088_1255123225977088784_n.jpg" height="374" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{rooftop love}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C5UqrdHnwac/U-hKqIm8wQI/AAAAAAAABhU/q_B4Bs6TPAk/s1600/1467476_10152647457473552_3744503121435608533_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C5UqrdHnwac/U-hKqIm8wQI/AAAAAAAABhU/q_B4Bs6TPAk/s1600/1467476_10152647457473552_3744503121435608533_n.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{granby ranch}</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9nIl5wHma20/U-lU5mRUocI/AAAAAAAABiM/IfkfmVR7JwU/s1600/groupphoto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9nIl5wHma20/U-lU5mRUocI/AAAAAAAABiM/IfkfmVR7JwU/s1600/groupphoto.JPG" height="410" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{crooked creek ranch summer interns 2014}</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-86116295901027423302014-07-30T00:26:00.003-04:002014-07-30T00:33:48.323-04:00Welcoming MJ Word on the street is that twenty-three is good. And well the second year out of college sounds better than the first.<br /><br />The truth is that no one really explains to you what life is like post-graduation. There is no way to really put words to it. It is all described in vague terms with no real picture of what it is really like to be a girl, out of college, away from all your best friends, and just trying to figure out what the hell you are doing.<br /><br />And that's how I spent my twenty-second year: wondering a whole lot of what the hell is this and learning that life is hard, but much better with Jesus.<br /><br />In my twenty-second year I also moved from North Carolina to Colorado for the year, but in this twenty-third I'll make that move permanent and become a Colorado resident, license plate and all.<br /><br />Twenty-two left me gasping for air, wondering when a break was coming, and when I would finally feel fully like myself. It left me missing North Carolina while also falling in love with the Rockies. It showed me that Jesus is better than anything else, but somedays it just wouldn't always&nbsp;<i>feel&nbsp;</i>like that in this life of mine.<br /><br />And now twenty-three is coming. Well actually, it's here.<br /><br />And I have high hopes for twenty-three. It's time to move myself into a little house nestled here in the Fraser Valley and to begin my job as the Housekeeping Supervisor at Crooked Creek. And it's time to begin figuring out more of this post-grad life. It's time to buy a KitchenAid mixer because I can, I want one, and I don't think it has to be a wedding gift some later time in life.<br /><br />And it's time for the blog again. My time has not been spent here for a while. There are a lot of excuses why, but mainly because my heart hasn't been in it. I haven't quite known what to say and I have been living in the moment (hello summer at a Young Life camp #insanity). I am excited to work in this space again and to pour my heart into it once more. And special thanks to Hannah and Sarah in the Crooked Creek bakery who were such an encouragement.<br /><br />I don't have much figured out. Not much more than what I had in the twenty-second year, but this time I'm learning to be okay with that. I am learning to go with the day and to accept the things that I simply cannot change, but trust that Jesus will do immeasurably more than all I could ask or imagine. I am beginning to see that most things are more about the process and a lot less about the end result.<br /><br />So here's to my MJ year. I welcome you.<br /><br />I welcome your questions, your confusion, your adventure, your plane tickets, and your goodness. I know that you won't be easy, but I know that you will be that good for the soul, stretching kind of year.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bJIRx9m9gtI/U9hzSxpllgI/AAAAAAAABec/PtAruxWEsw4/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bJIRx9m9gtI/U9hzSxpllgI/AAAAAAAABec/PtAruxWEsw4/s1600/photo.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-60705584923040449852014-05-06T00:33:00.005-04:002014-05-06T00:33:44.513-04:00Katy Perry and New Things Coming Some days you hear the Lord speak to you through Scripture and some days you hear Him through your besties and some days you Him through a good sermon. And then there are the days, you hear the Lord through Katy Perry. And it's those days you are quite positive that God has a sense of humor and that you are going to be okay.<br /><br />This winter has encapsulated everything truly winter. There has been snow. A lot of it. 374 inches to be exact thus far. The grass has disappeared under these mounds of snow. Green has become just a faint color of memory and has been replaced with glistening white and the dreary days of grey. The wild flowers lay dormant, asleep until the ground unfreezes and there is hope of rain for precipitation as opposed to snow. The water has frozen over, making it perfect for ice skating and ice fishing. Mornings have been spent shoveling snow and days off have been spent on the mountain skiing and snowboarding. Coffee has become necessary for warmth, for energy to shovel, and for soul revival.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OTzYR6ao3vM/U2hlnWdtAoI/AAAAAAAABdQ/JwqtIzQSYsU/s1600/photo3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OTzYR6ao3vM/U2hlnWdtAoI/AAAAAAAABdQ/JwqtIzQSYsU/s1600/photo3.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">so much snow that you can make igloos.</td></tr></tbody></table>And even at the very end of April I was questioning the ending of winter. Will it ever come? Snow is still falling and some morning temperatures are enough to make you want to stay in bed all day. Snow is forecasted for next week in May and I am preparing to shovel snow off the grass in order to make summer camp seem like "summer camp." Oh seriously, will this winter ever end?<br /><br /><i>&lt;&lt;sidenote: I actually really love winter, the snow, and time spent with people shoveling... it really isn't too bad, but it's been a long while of it all&gt;&gt;</i><br /><br />And amidst this winter season, it has been more than just the weather that has been dragging, confusing, and dreary. There have been more questions than can be answered. And in many ways I have wondered where the Lord is working exactly. It seems as if He decided to lay dormant for just a little while, like the flowers. I've known all along that the Lord is here, but not quite sure what His plan or purpose was. And in so many ways, winter has been happening all around.<br /><br />But then Monday night Young Life club happens and we sing "Roar." And it all kind of hits me. The Lord may seem like He is not doing a lot right now and that His purpose may not make a lot of sense, but soon we are going to hear Him ROAR.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>"I got the eye of a tiger, a fighter</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Dancing through the fire</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Louder, louder than a lion</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>'Cause I am a champion and you're gonna hear be roar!"</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Katy Perry.... or God&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Because the Lord is a champion. He defeated death and He overcame the grave. He is victorious over the enemy. And we are going to hear Him roar. While the winter may be quiet, oh the Lord is going to come out roaring.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Winter doesn't have a hold on us. It is going to end. Summer is coming. The grass is green underneath the snow and the dead grass on top. The flowers are blooming in the greenhouse and soon they will be ready to come out and play.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MPnbOmULAb0/U2hloOWwkPI/AAAAAAAABdk/8mx6HDBs0Z0/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MPnbOmULAb0/U2hloOWwkPI/AAAAAAAABdk/8mx6HDBs0Z0/s1600/photo.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">playing in springtime snow. sun is shining.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yqonlsLilfA/U2hlnwJHa7I/AAAAAAAABdg/8tx9ZkN9Rzk/s1600/photo2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yqonlsLilfA/U2hlnwJHa7I/AAAAAAAABdg/8tx9ZkN9Rzk/s1600/photo2.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">spring time has arrived in buena vista.&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And I have an inkling that the Lord is going to come roaring this summer. He is preparing a new chapter: a chapter where His hand is working in mighty ways and where He is working all things for our good.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>"Come and see the turning of the tide,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Come and see the sons and daughters rise.</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>For how could he who did not spare his own son</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Not freely give us victory</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Against the darkest of nights"</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>-Will Reagan and the United Pursuit&nbsp;</i><br /><i><br /></i></div>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-12135581698845468692014-04-25T12:34:00.000-04:002014-04-25T14:56:02.905-04:00We Do Hard Things"I did not sign up for this." Those are some of my favorite words to tell God when things get just too hard and I am about ready to give up. I am not always quite sure why I feel the need to tell Him that because it is not that God asked if I signed up for it and not that God is going to just take the hard situation away because I told him that, but I often say it anyways.<br /><div><br /></div><div>But the truth is that in some ways I did sign up for a lot of it when I chose to follow Jesus. Because sometimes, following Jesus means doing hard things.<br /><br />I have been hit in the face the past few weeks that some life&nbsp;is not always easy and it is not always full of rainbows, butterflies, and chocolate croissants.&nbsp;Those really sweet, to-be savored, and sipped in slowly moments are there and are in abundance but so are the hard things.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." </i>-Matthew 7:14 (ESV)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In talking to my dear friend Jen the other day she said something quite simple and at the same time quite profound: "I live with the expectation that everyday should be Easter, and it simply is not. Because before Easter, was the cross."<br /><br />Easter is awesome. It's the time we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, the beauty of redemption, and the defeat of death. Our God is alive and lives in us. Holy smokes, that is wonderful, freeing, and hope-giving!!! In Easter there is rejoicing and celebration and new life. PRAISE.<br /><br />And I want to live in the resurrection of Christ. I want to live knowing the power of a God who is greater than death and who is greater than the enemy.<br /><br />But to live in the resurrection, means to die with Christ. And welp, that ain't easy. There is no resurrection if Jesus did not go to the cross, where He was chastised, spat on, and beat down. There is no resurrection if there are no hard things.<br /><br /><b>So we do hard things.&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b>We learn new things that take patience and effort. We have brutally honest conversations. We cry in the arms of our best friends. We take cold showers because that just happens living with a lot of people. We move across the country for a year, only to think we might stay. We miss our besties that live plane rides and hours away. We shovel snow in April. We learn to wash the feet of sinners in a tight-knit community. We have our expectations unmet. We apologize when we mess up. We practice confrontation and vulnerability in relationships. We face the unknowns of the future. We close doors and open others. We build things from the ground up. We graduate and do the things (shout out to baby ayers for doing things).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Pl-cX3gsvM/U1qPREyH1UI/AAAAAAAABc8/LvRfoZzBlms/s1600/9c09a403db288f0fb540edba61c0b939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Pl-cX3gsvM/U1qPREyH1UI/AAAAAAAABc8/LvRfoZzBlms/s1600/9c09a403db288f0fb540edba61c0b939.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div><br />But all the while we hope in the resurrecting power of Christ and in the redemptive power of His love. We trust that Jesus is not finished with us. He is bringing beauty out of ashes.<br /><br />And on that day we meet Jesus in Heaven, we'll get to thank Him for writing us such a beautiful story of redemption that taught us to trust Him and to hope in more than just the day's circumstances.<br /><br /><br /></div>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-83185589185824267682014-04-10T16:28:00.005-04:002014-04-11T02:03:47.505-04:00For When Loving is Hard<h3 style="text-align: center;"><i><b>God is Love.</b></i></h3><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i><i><b>Love is patient...</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;">... even in my most ugliest of moments ... as I try to do things by myself ... as He calls my name to draw me to Himself ... even when I do not acknowledge Him&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love is kind...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... speaking sweetly in those tender soul needing moments ... as He looks at me and sees the righteousness of Christ ... reminding me of my worthiness that is in the Lord</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love does not envy...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... even as His heart desires our attention ... even while experiencing a godly jealousy&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love does not boast...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... when looking at those He loves ... as He reminds the woman at the well that He has written her a better story ... as He carries all our shame on the cross</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love is not self-seeking...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... as a sinless man He died a sinner's death for our salvation ...&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love is not easily angered...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... despite all of my mistakes and mishaps ... as He loves us with a deep, unfailing, and compassionate love ... even when I do not do what He has called me to</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love keeps no record of wrongs...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... for He remembers my sins no more ... as He washes us white as snow&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love does not delight in evil...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... as He cries out over the brokenness in this world ... as He is grieved by evil</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love rejoices with the truth...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... for the truth sets us free and it is for freedom that Christ has set us free ... as the Lord delights over with singing ... as dinner parties are thrown when the prodigal son returns home</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love always protects...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... as He gives us ways to stand up under the temptations of the enemy ... keeping me safe even when I don't feel safe ...&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love always trusts...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... extending us a truth to believe in ... dying on the cross for people He loves even before they were knit in their mother's womb&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love always hopes...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... believing better stories for us ...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love always perseveres...&nbsp;</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... through our dirtiness and mess ... as my heart wanders all around</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Love never fails...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">JESUS NEVER FAILS.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zupTl4hLYkE/U0b_nG_4rQI/AAAAAAAABcs/X16jpyOeXsM/s1600/a497fb138fe70320c8ac16dbc4da01be.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zupTl4hLYkE/U0b_nG_4rQI/AAAAAAAABcs/X16jpyOeXsM/s1600/a497fb138fe70320c8ac16dbc4da01be.jpg" height="640" width="488" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b><b>And we too are called to love with this kind of love... with Jesus love... as Christ has loved us.&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>I am called to be...</b><br /><br /><i><b>... patient ...&nbsp;</b></i><br />... even when it hurts ... despite the annoying comments and sassy remarks ... amidst the miscommunication and the differences ... with those who do not deserve my patience ... in receiving grace and giving grace ... as doors slam<br /><br /><b>... <i>kind </i>...</b><br />... using words that are uplifting and beneficial to the soul ... giving away more of myself than I receive ... not turning a friend in need away ... even when I have had my feelings hurt and all I want to do is scream ... in caring when I do not feel like caring ... in surprise coffees and chocolate croissants<br /><br /><b>... <i>not envious ...</i></b><br />... of those who still get to live in chapel hill and see all our besties on a regular occasion ... of those in a different life stage ... of those who don't have to shovel snow still in april ... &nbsp;when all I want is for things to be different<br /><br /><b>... <i>not boastful ...</i></b><br />... in my accomplishments ... in my relationships ... reminding others that I can do nothing without Christ- absolutely nothing<br /><b><br /></b><b>... <i>not self-seeking ...</i></b><br />... even when I want things to work out for me ... when I drive the extra distance to see a friend ... despite the desire for gratification from relationships ... even when my "plan" seems the most logical<br /><br /><b>... <i>not easily angered ...&nbsp;</i></b><br />... even when I am frustrated ... even when things change and do not happen like I thought they would ... even when I am hurt by someone's actions ... even when promises are broken ... even when everything in me says I should scream and storm out<br /><br /><b>... <i>keeping no record of wrongs</i> ...&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">... believing that Christ has died for that person's sins ... even when arguments seem stronger with lists of previous offenses ... trusting that Jesus is my safety, not my own guard and memory ... even when it does not seem fair<br /><br /><b>... <i>not delighting in evil ...&nbsp;</i></b><br />... trusting that all blessings and goodness flows from the Heavenly Father above ... even towards those people I would rather not love<br /><br /><b>... <i>rejoicing with the truth ...</i></b><br />... speaking the Lord's truth with grace in every moment ... in dinner parties that speak to community and life over the table ... even when the truth is scary and means there is vulnerability<br /><br /><b>... <i>always protecting ...&nbsp;</i></b><br />... honoring others with the words that I use ... praying for those in need and in trouble ... asking the Lord's provision over others lives ... in moments of confusion and anxiety<br /><br /><b>... <i>always trusting ...&nbsp;</i></b><br />... even when my gut says I would rather not ... that Jesus is working in the other person's life ... that beauty comes from ashes ... believing more is possible even when there is room to doubt<br /><br /><b>... <i>always hoping ...</i></b><br />... believing a better story for another ... believing that the Lord has not let go of them ... believing that they will turn around even when hope feels lost ... believing that Jesus has more love than I could ever possibly have ... even when hoping hurts and the situation feels hopeless<br /><br /><b>... <i>always persevering ...</i></b><br />... even when I want to give up ... even when loving means crying tears ... even when loving doesn't feel good anymore ... even when the other person has their back turned<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I cannot do or be anything of these things perfectly. Some days I cannot even attempt to do some of these things half-way well. And then some other days I am full out terrible at loving like Jesus.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With Jesus there is grace though. He looks down at my battered heart wanting to love well, but struggling, and says His grace is sufficient. While I may be weak, He is incredibly strong inside of me. He gives me the ability to love when loving just does not seem possible. He gives me the ability to love when I do not want to love. He gives me the ability to love when the other person does not want to be loved. He gives me the ability to love when all hope feels lost.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Love like this has power to move mountains and turn tables, because <b>the Lord's love never ever fails</b>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Jesus, may love fill our hearts even on our very worst of days.</i></b></div></div>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-83411825156171761452014-03-22T22:36:00.001-04:002014-03-22T22:36:18.096-04:00Our Stories After College316 days ago we all graduated from the most wonderful university and moved out of the house that was home for two years. Those 316 days happened fast, real fast. And then all eight of us were back together again. At the beach. For an entire weekend.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">&lt;enter prayer&gt;<i>&nbsp;Praise the Great Lion of Judah for best friend beach reunions.&nbsp;</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bRCgaeKLJr4/Uy5Df9KX47I/AAAAAAAABcA/6mxdwE_7Svc/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bRCgaeKLJr4/Uy5Df9KX47I/AAAAAAAABcA/6mxdwE_7Svc/s1600/1.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qLaCfPRHldI/Uy5ILH3aVGI/AAAAAAAABcQ/EbVPsnfd1m4/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qLaCfPRHldI/Uy5ILH3aVGI/AAAAAAAABcQ/EbVPsnfd1m4/s1600/photo.JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RTP3lJs4mHA/Uy5IMLs6F7I/AAAAAAAABcY/1DOhPcEoBcI/s1600/photo1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RTP3lJs4mHA/Uy5IMLs6F7I/AAAAAAAABcY/1DOhPcEoBcI/s1600/photo1.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><i><br /></i><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">When we all come back together, we no longer come with the same stories. We come with different stories. Ones that the Lord has so perfectly written for each of us as individuals. My past 316 days look different than Sydney's past 316 days and her days look different than Elaine's.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For the four years that we attended college together our days all looked similar and were deeply intertwined. We processed each moment together as they happened. But now our days are all different and we don't process together as we used to.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now we are all long-distance friends. And long-distance friendships look different than the days of college when late nights together were the norm and a weekend apart seemed like eternity.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now we have eight different lives that intertwine in beautiful ways, but not quite as close as the vines of the McMansion. We are phone calls, letters, road trips, and plane rides away from one another.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And when we all come back together again, we are hit with the reality: <b>we do not understand one another anymore.&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We do not understand each other's days because they are all different. By the grace of God, we can try to understand; we can ask questions, listen, and share endless stories. But ultimately we're no longer all students, living in the McMansion, leading Young Life, and playing around in Chapel Hill.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's the thing that comes with long-distance friendships after college... you stop having the natural understanding of one another's lives. No one knows what it is like to be an intern at Crooked Creek Ranch in the Rocky Mountains and to have their world completely rocked by the Fraser Valley. They do not know, because that isn't part of their story. Their stories are their own.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I do not know what it is like to be a seminary student ... or to have a full-time job in internet marketing research... or to be a graduate student ... or to live in Charleston ... or to stay in Chapel Hill after college ... or to be an intern at Trail West ... or to apply to school again to be a guidance counselor ... or to join a small group through the Summit church ... or to plan a wedding... or to work from a cubicle. I do not know because it is not my story.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When you realize that your best friends, who once knew every single thing about you and your days, does not really understand anymore it is hard... really hard. Because, ultimately, we all desire to be understood and to be known.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But then... Jesus. Jesus who knows each of us intimately. Jesus who is deep inside each of us. Jesus who gives us grace unending. Jesus who grants us understanding that goes beyond our human comprehension. Jesus who drew us all together our freshman year of college. Jesus who is the Author of the most beautiful stories. <b>Jesus who is Grace.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">He is the grace we give to others when they do not understand. He is the grace we show ourselves when we do not understand. He is the grace that is breathed through each conversation. He is the grace that allows us to forgive. <b>He is all the grace we need.&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-53044864210209499552014-03-17T18:24:00.000-04:002014-03-17T18:24:16.897-04:00A Favor I Have to AskMy heart is heavy writing this post. I come to you with an open and broken heart, asking for a favor. I am asking you to pray... to pray for the valley and to pray against the darkness.&nbsp;<div><br /></div><div>I have fallen absolutely in love with the valley I live in. It makes absolutely no sense why. We have had over 300 inches of snow this winter (all of which has had to be shoveled on camp), the nearest Target is an hour and a half away, and as the snow melts it creates mud (<i>a lot</i> of mud that absolutely covers your car). But I love this place. I love the way the snow looks like glitter some days, the community of people who love Jesus a ton, the high school of 350 students, and the possibility of an adventure every single day.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0jhoyWDri7A/Uyd1rI9uh7I/AAAAAAAABbs/zv79JGcT1kM/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0jhoyWDri7A/Uyd1rI9uh7I/AAAAAAAABbs/zv79JGcT1kM/s1600/photo.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>While the valley is beautiful and one of my favorite places it is full of brokenness. It is a dark, dark place that is in desperate need for the Light. Amidst all the darkness and brokenness though, my heart aches and longs for something different. It aches for the people who live here to know Jesus and it aches for there to be redemption.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>I weep over the darkness</b>. And most days I am sure I have cried all my tears.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>I weep over the locals I meet who have never heard the name of Jesus before. I weep over the man working at my favorite coffee shop who is either high or drunk every time I am in there. I weep over a dear friend wandering from the Lord. I weep over the sins of the people. I weep over the goodbyes that I never wanted to happen. I weep over the sudden death of a high school girl's father. I weep over the people who think that drugs and alcohol can satisfy their deepest longings. I weep over the people working odd jobs that feel they have no purpose. I weep over the lies that high school girls believe that tell them they aren't enough.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>But in my weeping, I do my best to pray. I am on my knees asking Jesus to overwhelm the valley with His love. I am trying to believe the Lord for more here. I want to believe Him for change, for redemption, for hope.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W-AAFptgJL8/Uyd1Rl9AI9I/AAAAAAAABbc/5VAJhz_5Mqo/s1600/baba2f482b92517389449361b763b7d9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W-AAFptgJL8/Uyd1Rl9AI9I/AAAAAAAABbc/5VAJhz_5Mqo/s1600/baba2f482b92517389449361b763b7d9.jpg" height="640" width="512" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>So today, I ask you to pray with me. Please pray for this valley. Pray for the people who live in Granby, Fraser, and Winter Park. Pray for the man in the coffee shop. Pray for Middle Park High School and for Grand County Young Life. Pray for my dear friend to turn back to the Lord. Pray for people to trust in something more. Pray for the Light.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">"So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer." -Ezra 8:23</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you." -John 15:7</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." -James 5:16</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-- whatever we ask --we know that we have what we asked of him." -1 John 5:14-15&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I know the Lord loves Fraser Valley. I absolutely convinced of it. I earnestly pray that His Light chases out all the darkness.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Come, Lord Jesus, come.&nbsp;</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And as my heart breaks for this valley in Colorado, I am sure your heart breaks for something too... whether it's a place, a person, or an injustice. <b>And I want to pray with you, too, for those things. </b>I want to approach the throne of the Lord, believing Him for healing in the brokenness that breaks your heart.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So please, share those things. I would love to pray for you and with you. Comment on here or send me an e-mail (jordan.abourjilie@gmail.com) with any and all prayer requests. I am utterly convinced that Jesus wants us to do this together.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>As I ask you to pray with me, how can I pray with you?</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IsRpcqByBkA/Uyd1S-FDRXI/AAAAAAAABbk/UPPRcDrMbHQ/s1600/f224d7b4b02726a4e4eea7677f7bae82.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IsRpcqByBkA/Uyd1S-FDRXI/AAAAAAAABbk/UPPRcDrMbHQ/s1600/f224d7b4b02726a4e4eea7677f7bae82.jpg" height="640" width="382" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-11577478185283377922014-02-20T02:09:00.001-05:002014-02-20T02:09:29.181-05:00I Am Done With SurvivingWelp, it's official. The most time has passed since I last wrote on here. I have been waiting to write. Waiting on change. The change that just is not coming quite yet in this season.<br /><br />I have spent the last year and a half dreading change. I did not think "transition" was really my forte and did not think that change was going to do me too well. But change happened and it was good. It was bittersweet in the way that it reminded me that a piece of my heart will always be in Chapel Hill, but that too I am held in love in the mountains of Colorado.<br /><br />But now I want change.<br /><br />I want change because I look around and my heart breaks and mind goes all over the place. Many circumstances surrounding my life are what I would phrase as "less than ideal." There are friends hurting, misunderstandings abound, too many things to be done with too little time, and the spinning plates of life seem to be teetering on the edge of shattering.<br /><br />And as my eyes are more aware of the hurt and pain, I desire change and I attempt to survive. I have run from one place to the next, I have cried tears for situations I never expected, I have cut my hair drastically because that's change I can control, and I have found myself bulldozing through many bumps in the road. I have been surviving.<br /><br />Truth be told: Survival works. It can be done. It has been done.<br /><br /><b>But we are not meant to just survive, we are meant to flourish.</b><br /><br />I am not meant to merely get by in this season of desiring change, but I am meant to flourish in this season even while it's difficult.<br /><br />So I am done with just surviving. I am done with the catching my breath only to have it be taken away again as I run to something else. I am done with half-hearted prayers to get me through a few moments. I am done with conversations that run you in circles with no hope of the redeeming powers of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am done with wanting change and not really believing it will ever come.<br /><br />I am choosing to flourish and to delight myself in the Lord.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PncX86Gn_vk/UwWpnqLyrWI/AAAAAAAABbM/8LKTknNdlug/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PncX86Gn_vk/UwWpnqLyrWI/AAAAAAAABbM/8LKTknNdlug/s1600/photo.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br />I am choosing to paint my nails with sparkly nail polish. I am choosing to sip coffee a little more slowly in the morning. I am choosing to say "no" to some things and "yes" to others. I am choosing to fly to Texas to escape the snow for just a weekend and to explore a new city. I am choosing to relish in sunflowers that are proof that seasons to do change. I am choosing to pick up the phone when familiar names come across the screen. I am choosing to linger in coffee shops. I am choosing to believe the Lord for deliverance and redemption. I am choosing to bake with children. I am choosing to read more books for enjoyment. I am choosing to look through old journals and see the ways the Lord has moved thus far. I am choosing to have hope in something more than just the day.<br /><br />Let's flourish, y'all.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: center;">"But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God;&nbsp;</h3><h3 style="text-align: center;">I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever." {Psalm 52:8}</h3><br />Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-34605440598801419222013-12-31T10:01:00.000-05:002013-12-31T10:01:16.902-05:00twenty thirteen.Holy smokes. 2013, you have come and you have gone. I never really let you in that much, considering there were countless occasions that I wrote 2012 or 2014 in my journal this year. Whoops, sorry about that. It may have been that whole "you were one of the craziest years of my life" yet. Or maybe it was that so much changed this year, not even the year felt constant.<br /><br />Because that was 2013 for ya: the year of change and the year of grace.<br /><br />So much happened.<br /><br />I finished my senior year of college. And welp, my career as a student as well. I pulled it together to make it through one last semester. Writing papers, studying, and learning all that my little brain could take in.<br /><br />I relished in the nature of my "future self being jealous of now self" while still in college where the responsibilities and expenses were limited.<br /><br />I saw some of the most wonderful Young Life teammates placed at East and I fell in love with the baby teammies. They gave me energy to lead our team and they provided some much needed laughter.<br /><br />I became accustomed to making pancakes 500 at a time and welcoming 100 people into my home, because isn't that the best way to eat pancakes... in mass quantities &amp; with best friends.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mBPD6avCpbE/UryPWS9aNoI/AAAAAAAABaM/gywOmaN70oY/s1600/945776_10151617831076628_1781825126_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mBPD6avCpbE/UryPWS9aNoI/AAAAAAAABaM/gywOmaN70oY/s400/945776_10151617831076628_1781825126_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I got my heart broken in that weird kind of way where it hurts longer than you thought it ever could and it shows you that you have more tears than you thought. But then too, I learned that time really does make things better and at some point the broken heart did not feel so broken anymore.<br /><br />I stayed up too late on the third floor of the McMansion and I delighted in the wee hours of the evening that roommates sat on the couch in my room and we talked about life.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UOK9kTcRWIA/UryPV5CIr-I/AAAAAAAABaI/kmMz2HVdSdA/s1600/427762_4195866780638_437758546_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UOK9kTcRWIA/UryPV5CIr-I/AAAAAAAABaI/kmMz2HVdSdA/s400/427762_4195866780638_437758546_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I graduated from the university that stole my heart as a little girl. I wore that Carolina blue cap and gown, sat in a stadium I loved, sang the alma mater (#gotohellduke), and turned that tassel.<br /><br />I watched my Young Life girls take the SAT and prepare for their senior year of high school and I saw just how much they had grown and how much the Lord had done in their lives.<br /><br />I traveled to Chicago to go to the Art Institute because sometimes peace and hope is found in hours walking around an art museum.<br /><br />I spent weeks in exhaustion. Like mental, physical, and spiritual exhaustion. And I learned that being a Christian is hard. Really hard. When Jesus said "pick up your cross and follow me," He really did mean it. Somedays I prayed that He would ask me to pick flowers, instead, and follow Him because I thought I would be better at that, but turns out that on the other side of exhaustion there is grace upon grace upon grace.<br /><br />I fell in love with writing for my blog and it became a space to breathe and space that gave me life, so I wrote a lot. But then one day, it got harder and it felt more like work so I had to take a little more of a break than I would have wanted.<br /><br />I found joy in tables that were delicately decorated, covered with delicious food, and surrounded with people I love. Through the year the people have changed... from McMansion, to Bible study ladies, to family, to nine other interns, and to a Colorado family.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_UA5XRI45GI/UryPq7Z8zsI/AAAAAAAABas/jjR8ldQlKt0/s1600/960206_10151818223894632_1514413051_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_UA5XRI45GI/UryPq7Z8zsI/AAAAAAAABas/jjR8ldQlKt0/s400/960206_10151818223894632_1514413051_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I spent a month of the summer in the mitten on a Young Life rental property. The days were full, but God did a mighty work in my heart that month as bitterness began to melt away and as hope was being found in the cross.<br /><br />I lived at home for two months in the summer and I learned to drink less than mediocre coffee and how to fight for my relationship with Jesus.<br /><br />I screamed at my brother more than I wish to admit, but then I too had to see that sometimes giving grace can be harder than you would ever wish or expect.<br /><br />I hopped on a plane with a week's notice to go to Minnesota for a week to work at Castaway Club. I spent nights beside a beautiful lake tearing down lies that were painted in my inner dwelling and I prayed for Truth to replace those lies.<br /><br />I struggled to be a good long-distance best friend. Best friendships can be hard and sometimes they take a lot of work and somedays I fell short, but my best friend gave me grace each and every time.<br /><br />I prayed and prayed for things to stop changing. I prayed that I could stay in the McMansion forever and that I would never have to move to Colorado. And then I read things like this: "Jesus says, Follow me. I'm going to take you to places that will make you say 'Why in the world are you taking me there?' Even then, I WANT YOU TO TRUST ME" (Tim Keller). Welp, okay, Colorado, I'm comin' for ya.<br /><br />I went to the Taylor Swift concert, bashed boys, and dressed like a hipster because sometimes that is just good for the soul.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-agQCRC8KxmI/UryPWvbj1nI/AAAAAAAABak/mIqEKaOdSkM/s1600/64777_4643615254070_774733889_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-agQCRC8KxmI/UryPWvbj1nI/AAAAAAAABak/mIqEKaOdSkM/s400/64777_4643615254070_774733889_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I finally decided to pack at some point at the end of August and I put all of my belongings in sweet Fonda and drove across the county. At some points I am sure that I would have turned around if it had not been for Anna following me all the way to Denver.<br /><br />I met the nine strangers (well really only seven were complete strangers) who would become my housemates for the next year. And I was thankful because I was sure my heart did not have room for any more people, but somehow it expanded and the ten of us became a family.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ik9uKHcl41I/UryPVH2fv6I/AAAAAAAABaE/Xqefhlvuw-k/s1600/1392564_10151818223089632_1823065546_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ik9uKHcl41I/UryPVH2fv6I/AAAAAAAABaE/Xqefhlvuw-k/s400/1392564_10151818223089632_1823065546_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I was terrified of Colorado, but in the Lord's most perfect provision, He has held me safe and He has covered me with His grace in an entirely new place.<br /><br />I started leading Young Life again, but this time in a valley in Colorado; and I really never thought that I would enjoy it again, but I have been surprised ten-fold and I have fallen in love with a school with only 350 students in the middle of nowhere Colorado. Who. Would. Have. Thought?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fzocjXzetoc/UryPVOXVD1I/AAAAAAAABaQ/ojIKRjpUzlA/s1600/1391979_10200911151166440_2008428820_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fzocjXzetoc/UryPVOXVD1I/AAAAAAAABaQ/ojIKRjpUzlA/s400/1391979_10200911151166440_2008428820_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I had my love for Young Life camping reaffirmed in all the best ways as I live and work my days at Crooked Creek Ranch.<br /><br />I have had my fair share of difficult conversations this year. Those conversations that I try so desperately to avoid, but then somehow they just happen. And they have made me thankful for relationships that show me how to ask for forgiveness and how to give grace.<br /><br />I picked up a new sense of fashion filled with large sweaters, fleece-lined leggings, large a** boots, down vests, chunky scarves, and wool socks. And people in Grand County are still shocked we live there... but turns out we are just a small part of what is "Fashion Forward Fraser".<br /><br />I learned to ski (and am still learning) in one of the most beautiful places. My first day I ran into a tree and a Frenchman. It's really only gone up from there, but how it could it really have gone down?<br /><br />I fell in love with a small mountain town just west of Denver called Fraser. I delight in it's valley, the county it is in, and all of the people that are here. I never thought I could love a small town like this, but I guess 2013 was full of falling in love with things I never thought I would.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hf7X8275tUw/UryPU_XWkFI/AAAAAAAABaA/7SFP44AWpw0/s1600/1384312_10151924196191628_54576889_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hf7X8275tUw/UryPU_XWkFI/AAAAAAAABaA/7SFP44AWpw0/s400/1384312_10151924196191628_54576889_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I returned home to North Carolina for the holidays, in need of rest and room to breathe. I delighted in all that home has to offer, but too I realized that I have a whole new life in Colorado. A life that includes people I love, acquaintances I am excited to get to know, places that I like to get breakfast, a ministry I am ecstatic about, and a church I love to be a part of. A whole new life. Who knew?<br /><br />I stumbled and still am stumbling through this whole post-grad life thing. But it is happening and it tough some days and other days it is really good. Here is to the ups and to the downs.<br /><br />Whoa, 2013. You were good and you were hard. But you showed me the meaning of grace. You showed me that grace is never deserved; it is always undeserved, and that is why it is called grace. And you showed me that I need grace every single day. Grace to accept to change, grace to see beyond the situation, grace to forgive others, grace to forgive myself, grace to love those around me, and grace to open my eyes.<br /><br /><i>Thank You, Jesus, for never withholding grace from me this year. And may Your grace go before me in &nbsp;all that is 2014. Amen.</i><br /><br />Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-40689578401562561822013-12-24T00:11:00.001-05:002013-12-24T00:11:30.036-05:00Choosing LightIt is no secret: I love twinkle lights. Like am kind of obsessed. I really am particularly in love with white lights. They're classy and pure and full of hope. They make joy bubble up in all the best ways.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8z2K2GjSfvY/UrkVSa19w-I/AAAAAAAABZA/mIx5rOOY0uI/s1600/photo1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8z2K2GjSfvY/UrkVSa19w-I/AAAAAAAABZA/mIx5rOOY0uI/s640/photo1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">all about the christmas lights.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Light, in so many ways, does bring hope and joy. It is the ultimate source of life.<br /><br />The Light came down with the birth of Immanuel, "God with us." Light shone forth in the incarnation. With just a glimpse of the star the Magi were overjoyed. They had not yet seen the full, true Light, yet they were already overcome with joy because the Light is the source of all true joy. What a marvelous light.<br /><br />The light is not always the first choice though, or even the easiest choice. There is darkness too. The darkness that breaths lies and fears. The darkness that whispers on the good days and shouts on the bad days: "you are not good enough ... you cannot trust anyone ... you will always be alone ... you are a failure ... you are not really loved ... you are defined by your mistakes."<br /><br />That darkness is very real. It consumes some days and creeps in on others. It attempts to push out the Light.<br /><br />But that night in Bethlehem, Light came to the earth as an infant. He came in a manger, full of grace and hope and peace. Light grew to live a life that knew no sin and lived in no darkness. He said: <b>"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" </b>(John 8:12).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jY_RbUcqTnw/UrkVTvzfa5I/AAAAAAAABZQ/29XUqD3ZlHs/s1600/cd522244a337688b815be3102577932b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jY_RbUcqTnw/UrkVTvzfa5I/AAAAAAAABZQ/29XUqD3ZlHs/s640/cd522244a337688b815be3102577932b.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br />The Light changed everything. The Light brought hope and joy, unending. The Light washed away the stain of sin and the Light trampled over darkness.<br /><br /><i>"But if we walk in&nbsp;the&nbsp;light, as he is in&nbsp;the&nbsp;light, we have&nbsp;fellowship&nbsp;with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).&nbsp;</i><br /><br />In all things and in all moments, we must cling to the Light and run to the Light. Darkness calls out in our fears and in the lies that run through our head. Darkness wants a hold over our lives and it wants us to believe that the Light is not strong enough to overcome it. But the darkness lies; we must choose to cling and run to the Light, the source of Truth.<br /><br />This Christmas season I am choosing Light. I am choosing to believe in the presence and the promises of Christ. I am choosing to believe that the Light chases out darkness and the Light is the lover of my soul. I am choosing to believe that the Light brings healing. I am choosing to believe that the Light is already victorious over darkness.<br /><br />Some days are a full on battle for the Light, but I am choosing the Light.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A7s8M_Ap9nE/UrkVTmcX4XI/AAAAAAAABZM/oBt65Kq9zc8/s1600/1a87c16c6655125120c0fc00af54bffd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A7s8M_Ap9nE/UrkVTmcX4XI/AAAAAAAABZM/oBt65Kq9zc8/s640/1a87c16c6655125120c0fc00af54bffd.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-87279782163806012592013-12-13T00:45:00.002-05:002013-12-13T00:45:45.396-05:00Deep Cleaning and Our SoulsSome days are best suited singing from the musical <i>Annie</i>: "It's the hard-knock life for us!" Because life is hard. And some days life is especially hard when you are deep cleaning one building on camp for an entire week. Yes those days, I want to sing like Annie.<br /><br />But while it is hard, it is absolutely necessary.<br /><br />On first glimpse, you could have walked through Creekside, one of our houses on camp for Assignment teams in the summer, and thought that it looked pretty nice and that it was certainly suitable for guests. Which it was, but closer to the surface and then beneath the surface, there was much more. There were baseboards yearning to be dusted, cabinets in desperate need of cleaning, and bathrooms that screamed for bleach.<br /><br />So that is where the girl interns found ourself this week. In Creekside. Cleaning. Cleaning. every. single. thing. on. our. hands. and. knees.<br /><br />Praise the Lord for bleach, scrub brushes, pumice stones, ladders, hundreds of rags, shop-vacs, Murphy's oil, hot water, and can-do attitudes. Because, yes, those are all things desperately needed for a good deep cleaning.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9jKsB1W9aWc/Uqqcmj_gTfI/AAAAAAAABYA/myIXW8yz0iI/s1600/photo2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9jKsB1W9aWc/Uqqcmj_gTfI/AAAAAAAABYA/myIXW8yz0iI/s400/photo2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">just a little expression of how we feel about scrubbing toilets</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V4PZ9PJ8BJM/Uqqcz9ojNrI/AAAAAAAABYY/QNwkJ-3ykug/s1600/photo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V4PZ9PJ8BJM/Uqqcz9ojNrI/AAAAAAAABYY/QNwkJ-3ykug/s400/photo3.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">karlie &amp; murphy's oil: 2 really great things</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zuy-_PeQ3po/Uqqcxpgs6PI/AAAAAAAABYM/hcOGrWcDnwA/s1600/photo4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zuy-_PeQ3po/Uqqcxpgs6PI/AAAAAAAABYM/hcOGrWcDnwA/s400/photo4.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">favorite.photo.of.day.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--21NytJfRfo/Uqqc8_YHIzI/AAAAAAAABY0/gJly1ToYiZk/s1600/photo8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--21NytJfRfo/Uqqc8_YHIzI/AAAAAAAABY0/gJly1ToYiZk/s400/photo8.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">climbing to all heights to get dat dust... be gone with ya bad self, dust.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rlEw2ZjD0uc/Uqqc7bFfUTI/AAAAAAAABYs/LVQ4tGsv9fw/s1600/photo9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rlEw2ZjD0uc/Uqqc7bFfUTI/AAAAAAAABYs/LVQ4tGsv9fw/s400/photo9.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mary mary mary&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SS1KtMZPOm4/Uqqc0LVGoSI/AAAAAAAABYc/Ipg31gk4JFA/s1600/photo5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SS1KtMZPOm4/Uqqc0LVGoSI/AAAAAAAABYc/Ipg31gk4JFA/s400/photo5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">never ending scrubbing</td></tr></tbody></table><br />And in cleaning this week we have laughed, we have cried, we have danced to Ms New Booty, we have yelled, we have talked, and it has been good.<br /><br />Because cleaning is like that: it goes deep, into the nitty-gritty; it tears things up only to put them back together; it involves laughter and tears; and it gets real; but <b>it is good</b>.<br /><br />And that is what the deep cleaning of our souls looks like too.<br /><br />The Lord works in our hearts and in our deepest most beings. He works to refine us and to clean us and to make us new. And that cleaning goes deep, into the places that we want to keep hidden. It involves breaking things down, only to rebuild them and it involves tears and laughter.<br /><br />We are continually being worked on and cleaned by the Lord. Some seasons are full of days of light cleanings. The days that we are gradually being drawn to the Lord and where we are connecting with Him and sensing Him in the slight gentle ways of everyday life.<br /><br />But some days it is a cleaning that requires bleach, a wired scrub, and a lot of work. Those days come in all different forms. Sometimes those are the days we throw our hands up in confusion because none of it makes a lot of sense anyways. Or they are the days spent crying on the floor because thing are not going as you expected and hoped. Or they are the days that a friend speaks truth deep into your soul and it hurts because it is not what you wanted to hear, but it is what you needed to hear. And sometimes those are the days you drag your feet to spend time with the Lord because you sense the Spirit moving in you and it is scary. Those are the days of deep cleaning. Because the Lord works in the deep places, those places that we want to cling on to and that we want to keep hidden. He draws us to our knees and He reminds us that He makes <i>all </i>things new, even the things we are desperately attempting to keep buried. And sometimes those days are hard, really hard, like painstakingly difficult to the point of sobbing... but they are good.<br /><br />Walking into the season of deep cleaning can be rough, or maybe down right miserable. But the Lord meets you there. He does not leave you alone and He is not dismayed by your dirtiness. He comes prepared with His unfailing love, unfathomable grace, and never-ending mercy. And may our prayer be that at the end of a season of deep cleaning we know the Lord more and that we are drawn more closely to His likeness.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: center;">"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." -Philippians 1:6</h3><br /><br />Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-91374768789181373732013-11-30T17:16:00.002-05:002013-11-30T17:16:22.736-05:00Holidays and Wandering HeartsEach morning I awake and pray to the Lord: <b>"<i>bind my wandering heart to Thee."</i></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b>It's the holiday season. Since before Halloween, stores have begun to stock their shelves with Christmas lights, decorations, stocking stuffers, and everything for the holidays. Christmas lists were made months ago, written full of things we think we so desperately "need." Buying gifts anytime there is a deal becomes the norm and money is quickly drained from bank accounts. Baking holiday treats becomes a daily occurrence.<br /><br />This is life in the holiday season. It is busy. I have spent the past three days inundated in the holidays, moving from one holiday task to another. The days have been full of holiday fun and joy and have been truly wonderful. But in some small ways the holiday <i>things</i>&nbsp;become more of my heart's focus than the Creator of the holidays.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EGTPHPklXRA/UppiiWzUamI/AAAAAAAABXc/aqRUnbU6FG8/s1600/960206_10151818223894632_1514413051_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EGTPHPklXRA/UppiiWzUamI/AAAAAAAABXc/aqRUnbU6FG8/s640/960206_10151818223894632_1514413051_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oCtRtHpNKIo/UppiiHwGKYI/AAAAAAAABXo/eMtwblhcjhw/s1600/531943_10151818222664632_239180424_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oCtRtHpNKIo/UppiiHwGKYI/AAAAAAAABXo/eMtwblhcjhw/s640/531943_10151818222664632_239180424_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NH1ODOUMUlU/UppigS8gjSI/AAAAAAAABXQ/eeLlglKpKd0/s1600/1392564_10151818223089632_1823065546_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NH1ODOUMUlU/UppigS8gjSI/AAAAAAAABXQ/eeLlglKpKd0/s640/1392564_10151818223089632_1823065546_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4Dl80kiwflc/Uppigw8NxEI/AAAAAAAABXU/i3nu-xTsrJI/s1600/1458497_10151818229569632_1802013613_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4Dl80kiwflc/Uppigw8NxEI/AAAAAAAABXU/i3nu-xTsrJI/s640/1458497_10151818229569632_1802013613_n.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MCNZ-t-g0dk/Uppig6WyqfI/AAAAAAAABXY/BQHz8jw6cKg/s1600/1467377_10151818232159632_1387068585_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MCNZ-t-g0dk/Uppig6WyqfI/AAAAAAAABXY/BQHz8jw6cKg/s640/1467377_10151818232159632_1387068585_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FwMlxmt5o2U/UppimmrXz5I/AAAAAAAABXw/Ybz1qFijm5E/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FwMlxmt5o2U/UppimmrXz5I/AAAAAAAABXw/Ybz1qFijm5E/s640/photo.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />And what a sad sad thing that is.<br /><br />Thanksgiving should be a lifestyle. Our hearts should be overflowing with gratitude to the One who died on a cross to save us... each.and.every.single.day. And while Thanksgiving is a day for good eating, it is also a day to love and be thankful for the One who blesses you with food to eat and for the people who fill the chairs around the table with you.<br /><br />As for Christmas pictures, it is about loving the people in the picture with you; not taking the most picturesque photo that portrays a false sense of perfection. It is more about the community living in the photo than the photo itself.<br /><br />And then there are twinkle lights. The lights that sing sweet music to my heart and give me butterflies in my stomach each and every time they twinkle. May I know that the Lord of the universe is the ultimate source of joy and the ultimate source of light each time those lights are a sparkling.<br /><br />And those are the things that my wandering heart forgets sometimes. This holiday season, I want to continue to stand in awe of our Heavenly Father whose love is everlasting. I want to be overjoyed by the Savior with a remarkable name, Jesus. I want to know and celebrate the Creator of the holidays, not just the holiday.<br /><br />In this season Lord, and in all times, <b><i>bind my wandering heart to Thee</i></b>.<br /><br />Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-13096835935763803552013-11-19T22:36:00.000-05:002013-11-19T22:36:16.505-05:00Held By Love in the MountainsSome days I ask myself "<i>how in the hell</i> did I get myself to Fraser, CO, one of the coldest cities in America?" And when I think about it there are the obvious ways: the whole I applied for a year-long position and when Frontier ended their program I ended up applying for the year-long at Crooked Creek... and then I got the internship and accepted it... and then at some point in August I packed up all my belongings in Fonda and drove across the country. There are all of those things that easily explain how I got here.<br /><br />But digging deeper, I believe that the Lord has brought me to this valley and to this place. He has gone far beyond my own ability to plan to draw me to this place of love.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." -Proverbs 16:9</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">It is no secret that my last semester of college and the summer that followed were difficult for me. There were months full of confusion, pain, and frustration. Graduating seemed like the worst thing that could possibly happen to me, coupled with many difficult situations and relationships. So when it came to moving to Colorado, I was dragging my feet and begging the Lord to change the plans for my life. I did not think I was ready and I was filled with fear.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But somehow, <b>I am still here. </b>The Lord never granted my requests for a different life direction. He had far greater plans than I could ever imagine or have prayed for. He is the Author of a story far different and far more spectacular than I could have ever written for myself.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">He has brought me to this valley, surrounded by the most majestic mountains, to draw me to my knees and to hold me in His love. As I stand in awe of the mountains that surround me, I too stand in awe of the Lord that is surrounding me and holding me in His perfect, steadfast love.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UjkOIi-7iwU/Uoo9A33LA0I/AAAAAAAABWk/qvojCE1kkTY/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UjkOIi-7iwU/Uoo9A33LA0I/AAAAAAAABWk/qvojCE1kkTY/s640/photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I would have never picked Fraser, CO as the place I would be held in the Lord's love. I thought that place was Chapel Hill... the place where my best friends were, where people knew my pain and frustrations, where I was comfortable, and where I felt safe.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But the Lord works differently than I do (praise the Lord for that because Lord knows I am slightly crazy most days). <b>He has brought me to a place where I am being held by the mountains and I am &nbsp;being held by His love.&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vGaTsQsNJpU/Uowt8yy9ZuI/AAAAAAAABW0/SRRKL86uhjg/s1600/ed0606d88821bcf6a13b6a899a026b24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vGaTsQsNJpU/Uowt8yy9ZuI/AAAAAAAABW0/SRRKL86uhjg/s640/ed0606d88821bcf6a13b6a899a026b24.jpg" width="460" /></a></div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Just the other day I ordered Henri Nouwen's <i>The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom</i>. It is the bomb dot com and will rock your brain and heart cells. And in it I read: "You have to begin to trust that your experience of emptiness is not the final experience, that beyond it is a place where you are being held in love."&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The experience of pain and emptiness is <b>not</b> final. Some days, the enemy tries to make me believe that it is final, but it is not. Those are lies. The battle has already been won. The Son of Man died of a cross, defeated death, and has risen victoriously so that we are not kept in a place of pain. On the cross He exclaimed, "It is finished." Jesus has brought us to a place of freedom and life and love through His resurrection.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And my time here in valley is just that... the place I am being held in the Lord's love. It is the place beyond the experience of emptiness and pain. It is the place the Lord speaks to me sweetly and is daily reminding me that He has not left me, but that He instead has something far better for me than I ever thought myself.&nbsp;</div>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-31147410724627524752013-11-17T15:20:00.000-05:002013-11-17T15:20:05.517-05:00From Both SidesThe days are long at times. Especially long when 700 campers and leaders are pouring into camp on Friday evening. There are sheets to be folded, cabins to be cleaned, mattresses to be moved, food to be prepared, snow to be shoveled, lodges to be turned over, and everything else in between.<br /><br />Quite frankly, some days it can be rough. It seems that one more radio call to move more mattresses across camp might be the breaking point. Tension runs high as patience wanes and the sunlight draws to a close. Nothing really describes fun like scrubbing marshmallow off of a stage, then cleaning up the food stomped into the floor of the snack bar, followed by scrubbing toilets all around camp.<br /><br /><i>There is nothing glamorous in the job.&nbsp;</i><br /><i><br /></i>Except, we are setting up a place for <b><i>the gospel to be proclaimed</i></b>. Now that is a beautiful responsibility. &nbsp;That is the joy and heart of working at a Young Life camp.<br /><br />So when patience is drying up and energy is slowly being sucked down the drain, I pray for eyes to see the work the Lord is doing here at Crooked Creek. I pray for hope in something more than just the work. I pray for joy that bubbles up from the deepest part of my soul that delights in the dirty jobs and the long days.<br /><br />For you see, the Lord is doing mighty things on this property. He is working and stirring in hearts of hundreds of high schoolers and middle schoolers.<br /><br />Just last weekend, I stood on the other side of the camping dynamic.<br /><br />I rolled into Crooked Creek in a ten car caravan with 47 campers and leaders from Grand County and I was set to be leader for the weekend.<br /><br />No longer was I working at camp, but I was participating at camp. And the beautiful and magical masterpiece of Young Life camping was drawn full circle.<br /><br />As we sat in the club room and Shelley spoke, the gospel was proclaimed. As we played glow mixers and walls were broken, the gospel was proclaimed. As program created laughter of the deepest sorts, the gospel was proclaimed. As stories were shared in cabin time and bonds were formed, the gospel was proclaimed. As we left unified as a Grand County Young Life area, the gospel was proclaimed.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--qr32LeGtD0/UokjHm_msGI/AAAAAAAABWA/4emlykwEHtg/s1600/IMG_0283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--qr32LeGtD0/UokjHm_msGI/AAAAAAAABWA/4emlykwEHtg/s640/IMG_0283.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vzAk7jHkyes/UokkcgoybNI/AAAAAAAABWM/kEdLv5kkCk4/s1600/IMG_0217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vzAk7jHkyes/UokkcgoybNI/AAAAAAAABWM/kEdLv5kkCk4/s640/IMG_0217.JPG" width="588" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--sd58zqUA5Q/Uokkr-KSmiI/AAAAAAAABWU/oLIDMZo3fNA/s1600/IMG_0296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--sd58zqUA5Q/Uokkr-KSmiI/AAAAAAAABWU/oLIDMZo3fNA/s640/IMG_0296.JPG" width="554" /></a></div><br /><br />Praise the One who died on the cross to give us such good news to proclaim. Praise the Father who is working on Young Life camps all over the country to draw high school and middle school students to Himself.<br /><br />And as this weekend closes and another 700 people leave camp, I know that our work here is worth every single second, every single tear, and every single difficult day.<br /><br />Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-5411026840884205412013-11-04T01:14:00.000-05:002013-11-04T01:14:03.394-05:00Best Friend Turns 23I met my best friend one chilly day at the end of May of 2011 in northern Michigan. She had just gone down the obstacle course slide at Timber Wolf Lake fully clothed and she was soaked and freezing. I did not know then that I was meeting my best friend, but now I look back at that moment and know that I did.<div><br /></div><div>Today is her twenty-third birthday and today's post is in honor of her.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j0vfGITaJ1M/Unc6w0mDWfI/AAAAAAAABVo/_sWxDaOhqwI/s1600/smitten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="369" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j0vfGITaJ1M/Unc6w0mDWfI/AAAAAAAABVo/_sWxDaOhqwI/s640/smitten.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9aNtXm7jrzU/Unc6xlMVmOI/AAAAAAAABVs/ZBZsq951-yQ/s1600/twl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9aNtXm7jrzU/Unc6xlMVmOI/AAAAAAAABVs/ZBZsq951-yQ/s640/twl.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F5U0xd0ItFw/Unc6wDXjw8I/AAAAAAAABVk/JfcAu51F8-M/s1600/nashville.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F5U0xd0ItFw/Unc6wDXjw8I/AAAAAAAABVk/JfcAu51F8-M/s640/nashville.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Amanda Vivian Stephens changed the way that I understand a friendship can be.</div><div><br /></div><div>To put words to our friendship does not do it justice, but I'll try nonetheless. We are the friends that have only lived together for two summers, but understand one another in ways that do not make sense. We are the friends that will make the twelve hour drive to see one another because sometimes it's just necessary. We are the friends who escape the swamp for coffee and chai for doses of best friend sanity. We are the friends who hop on planes to surprise one another. We are the friends who when both have to drive somewhere, Sushi will offer to drive one of the cars so we can ride together. We are the friends who answer the phone at all times of the day when the other one is calling. We are the friends who have the difficult conversations. We are the friends who fight for one another and wipe one another's tears. We are the friends that will one day convince our future husbands that it is best for us to live next door to one another. Yes, we are <i>those</i>&nbsp;friends.</div><div><br /></div><div>And here is what our friendship has taught me about life and about friendships:&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>1- Long distance best friendships are more than possible. They can be some of the most intentional and rewarding relationships.</div><div><br /></div><div>2- Best friends are there to speak truth into the hard places in your life and are there to point you back to Jesus every single time.</div><div><br /></div><div>3- A twelve hour road trip to see a best friend is worth it. Every. Single. Time. And so are last minute plane tickets.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>4- A best friend can see past the "it's okay" and the "I'm fine" and can insist that you actually tell the truth, the whole truth on how you feel.</div><div><br /></div><div>5- Some mornings require calling your best friend twice before 8:00am, because that's just how life goes.</div><div><br /></div><div>6- Growth happens when you believe the best in one another and challenge one another to know the Lord more.</div><div><br /></div><div>7- Play dates in northern Michigan with your best friend might just possibly be the best thing in the entire world.</div><div><br /></div><div>8- Extending one another grace when one falls short is not only necessary, but it is also life-giving.</div><div><br /></div><div>9- Some thoughts can just be communicated through a simple laugh or smile or raise of the eyebrows, because you just know what the other is thinking.</div><div><br /></div><div>10- No matter where in the world two people are and no matter how far apart they are, the Lord can create connections between two friends that make bonds that go far deeper than you ever thought possible.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-51366888861752458342013-10-27T23:54:00.001-04:002013-10-27T23:54:37.109-04:00It's Okay"It's okay."<br /><br />Finally, I could say it and mean it: "God, it's okay."<br /><br />It's okay that things did not work how I thought that they would. It's okay that I do not have answers to all of the questions. It's okay that my expectations were not met. It's okay that some things were swept away before I wanted them to be.<br /><br />God did not need me to tell Him it was okay, but I needed to tell Him it was okay.<br /><br />The unsettled frustrations, the questions, the emotional roller coaster, and the constant battle against the lies were laid to rest with the notion of "it's okay."<br /><br />I had been handed far more than I ever thought I could handle. Some days I was sure that there was no way I could make it through one more ounce of bad news or one more difficult conversation. My trust in the Lord wavered with my feeling of the day.<br /><br />But in finally admitting to God that it was okay, that I was okay, and that I was going to continue to be okay, I finally <b>believed it.&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b>The lie that God was mad at me and was punishing me was laid in the grave. The truth was painted on the inner most part of my soul: the Lord is the great I AM and the great I AM is faithful.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments." Deuteronomy 7:9&nbsp;</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Lord remains faithful to His covenant and to the promises that He has made. God never promises to remain faithful to expectations that we put on Him on our own.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In Exodus 4 the Lord asks Moses what he is holding in his hand. Obviously the Lord knew what Moses had in his hand, but He asked Moses for the benefit of Moses. Once Moses recognized to the Lord the staff that he was holding on to, the Lord promptly told him to throw the staff on the ground. Once on the ground, the staff came to life as a snake and the Lord guided Moses through picking the snake up as it became a staff once more. The Lord explained that His purpose was so that people would believe.<br /><br /></div>The Lord has been asking me over the past few months: <i>What are you holding onto in your hands and in your head? What beliefs and expectations are you clinging to as if they are truth?&nbsp;</i><br /><i><br /></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-weTSiCVGuHY/Um3d818demI/AAAAAAAABVQ/yvBfBwtpjcY/s1600/balloons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-weTSiCVGuHY/Um3d818demI/AAAAAAAABVQ/yvBfBwtpjcY/s640/balloons.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><i><br /></i>And when I finally said to the Lord that "it is okay," I laid down all that I had been holding onto. All of my unmet expectations and frustrations were laid before the Lord, and I really was okay. The Lord had remained faithful to who He is: a loving God who is sovereign, powerful, and works all things for my good. And I stood confident before the Lord, thankful for who He is and who He has made me.<br /><br /><br />Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830912759416710082.post-46536285425101527772013-09-27T00:02:00.001-04:002013-09-27T00:24:02.508-04:00The Right Kind of "Yes" There was a time in my life when I had to learn to say "no." I had to learn to not over commit and to not say "yes" to every single thing asked of me.<br /><br />And while there was a season in life of learning to say "no," these days I want to say "yes", not to every single thing, but to some things.<br /><br />I want to be a person that says "yes" to the beautiful things, that breathe life into my soul, and that draw me closer to Jesus.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to</b> sitting on roofs and gazing at the stars because I believe the stars speak to the Lord's impeccable beauty in creation.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to</b> buying plane tickets to visit best friends because I believe that sometimes a hug, face-to-face conversations, and play dates are worth it.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to</b> crying because I believe tears do not mean we are weak, but that we do in fact feel something.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to </b>spontaneity because I believe we are not meant to live with such rigid schedules.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes</b> <b>to</b> dancing in the rain because it is freeing and reminds me that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes</b> <b>to </b>dinner parties because I believe <a href="http://jabourjilie.blogspot.com/2013/04/life-over-table.html">life is found over the table</a>.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes</b> <b>to </b>coffee every single time because it reminds me to slow down and it warms the deepest parts of my soul.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to </b>things that scare me because I believe that the God of the universe drives out fear and that His angels encamp around me.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to </b>the late night phone calls because I believe the person on the other end deserves it.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to</b> adventuring, hiking, exploring, and camping because I believe in the outdoors challenges that I am drawn closer to Jesus.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to </b>sweatpants because I believe they bring rest to your body and your soul.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes</b> <b>to </b>road trips because I believe cars are meant to be driven and cities are meant to be explored.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to </b>difficult conversations because I believe communication is necessary all the time.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes</b> <b>to</b> playing on playgrounds and swinging on swings because I believe you are never too old for a good swing set or playground.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to</b> vulnerability because I know that we are designed for <a href="http://jabourjilie.blogspot.com/2013/04/hidden-messy-and-beautiful-connection.html">connection</a>.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to </b>interpretative dancing because it always makes for an enjoyable time and "The Circle of Life" insists upon dancing.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to </b>snowboarding because I want to learn something new and to embrace my inner bro #jokes.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to</b> girls' nights because I believe as females we need one another, to encourage, to pray, to giggle, to process, and to fight for one another as believers.<br /><br /><b>I want to say yes to Jesus every single time.&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b>There is beauty in saying "yes" and there is beauty in saying "no." But for right now, I am going to work on saying "yes."<br /><br />Because for me saying "yes" is what I need and what is drawing me closer to the Lord. Saying "yes" to the whimsy things in life, to the things that deserve to be taken in slowly, and to the things that make this life just a little bit sweeter.<br /><br />Here's to practicing the "yes" life...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V26yK_a6emU/UkUCkvhpazI/AAAAAAAABUc/CJ1-irD1z_k/s1600/310640_3714886236425_1573546930_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V26yK_a6emU/UkUCkvhpazI/AAAAAAAABUc/CJ1-irD1z_k/s640/310640_3714886236425_1573546930_n.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_cJF88EvoQM/UkUD4xro5bI/AAAAAAAABU4/3BKI39tUcfQ/s1600/ee8fa3802ef5bb012d05db0f98e43acf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_cJF88EvoQM/UkUD4xro5bI/AAAAAAAABU4/3BKI39tUcfQ/s640/ee8fa3802ef5bb012d05db0f98e43acf.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QCcOuOc3wxY/UkUClcvrvFI/AAAAAAAABUk/RvcX7xdG4Jw/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QCcOuOc3wxY/UkUClcvrvFI/AAAAAAAABUk/RvcX7xdG4Jw/s640/photo.JPG" width="420" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DTmcIqQOPN0/UkUCuc26RGI/AAAAAAAABUs/6lpDaCUArTA/s1600/IMG_3387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DTmcIqQOPN0/UkUCuc26RGI/AAAAAAAABUs/6lpDaCUArTA/s640/IMG_3387.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aYBXloaHDiE/UkUEcs8W5sI/AAAAAAAABVA/ZYXMRNKZsJo/s1600/bfaf376736abc46a8b1fd55b55037c77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aYBXloaHDiE/UkUEcs8W5sI/AAAAAAAABVA/ZYXMRNKZsJo/s640/bfaf376736abc46a8b1fd55b55037c77.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><br />Jordan Abourjiliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04091454556510592337noreply@blogger.com0